Courier shares up on strong Q3 sales

CHELMSFORD -- Shares of Courier Corp. opened trading Wednesday more than $1 higher than their Tuesday close, after the company reported strong fiscal third-quarter revenues.

The company, based at 15 Wellman Ave., makes and publishes books, as well as provide content management.

For the three-month period ending June 28, Courier reported revenues of $67.7 million, up 5 percent from the $64.1 million generated in the same period a year earlier.

Net income was $1.2 million, or 10 cents per diluted share, down from $1.7 million (15 cents per share) a year ago.

One analyst following the company had forecast earnings of 9 cents per share.

"We had a solid quarter across much of our business despite several factors that constrained our earnings," said Chairman and CEO James F. Conway III, in a statement. "Pricing pressures and increasingly tight inventory management on the part of publishers have been facts of life for some time."

Conway also said the company bore "the non-cash burden of depreciation related to our recent expansion in digital-press capacity without reaping the full benefit of that capacity until the latter half of the quarter."

A third factor, he said, was Courier's investment in FastPencil and the subsequent ramp-up.

"Over time, we expect all these investments to serve our customers and our company well," Conway said.

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Company positives include increased business with its largest religious customer; improved performance from Dover Publications and Research & Education Association; and a "strong order flow for our digital and offset manufacturing facilities in Massachusetts and Indiana," Conway said.

Courier shares opened trading Wednesday at $13.96, up $1.03 from their Tuesday close.

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